The present invention relates generally to functional pathway configurations at the interfaces between integrated circuit (IC) packages and the circuit assemblies with which the IC packages communicate. More particularly, the present invention relates generally to the functional pathway configuration at the interface between one or more semiconductor integrated circuit dice and the circuitry of a system, wherein the integrated circuit dice is a digital signal controller. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a 18, 28, 40, 44, 64 or 80 pin functional pathway configuration for the interface between a digital signal controller and the system in which it is embedded.
The electronics industry is generally divided into two main segments: application products companies and semiconductor companies. The application products companies segment includes the companies that design, manufacture, and sell a wide variety of semiconductor-based goods. The semiconductor companies segment includes integrated circuit (IC) design companies (e.g., fabless companies which may design and/or sell semiconductor chips), foundries (e.g., companies that manufacture chips for others), and partially or fully integrated companies that may design, manufacture, package and/or market chips to application products companies.
There is a large range of semiconductor-based goods available across a broad spectrum of applications, e.g., goods which include one or more semiconductor devices, in applications ranging from manufactured printed circuit boards to consumer electronic devices (stereos, computers, toasters, microwave ovens, etc.) and automobiles (which, for example, include semiconductor devices in fuel injection, anti-lock brake, power windows and other on-board systems). Thus there also are a wide variety of semiconductor devices available to meet the various requirements of such products and applications.
Digital signal controllers are devices that incorporate digital signal processing features and microcontrollers into a single device. Digital signal controllers themselves may be considered digital signal processors, microcontrollers or microprocessors due to their hybrid nature. In general, these devices offer an attractive combination of performance, price and features that places them near the middle of the range between high end and low end digital signal processors and microprocessors/microcontrollers. Digital signal controllers are ideal for applications that demand a level of signal processing performance that may exceed that offered by a microcontroller but may be too low to justify the expense of a high speed digital signal processor.
In addition, digital signal controllers may offer a larger, more flexible instruction set with a pin out that is configurable to facilitate backward compatibility at the package level and instruction set level with earlier microcontrollers. This backward compatibility when present in the instruction set and/or the pin out tends to make digital signal controller devices and their features programmable by digital signal processor neophytes and helps ensure market penetration of such devices for a broad range of applications. Examples of applications for which digital signal controllers are particularly well suited include in motor control, soft modems, automotive body computers, speech recognition, echo cancellation and fingerprint recognition.
Typically, semiconductor integrated circuit companies that offer devices with digital signal processing capability provide the devices with a set of features and capabilities appropriate for a particular product or application. Thus, these digital signal processors or digital signal controllers may have a broad range of features and capabilities. Semiconductor companies tend to offer their customers a wide range of products incorporating digital signal processing capabilities to meet their customers"" needs. For example, a semiconductor company may offer a family of products including a feature-rich xe2x80x9chigh-endxe2x80x9d product (e.g., for automobile applications) and one or more xe2x80x9clow-endxe2x80x9d products including fewer features (e.g., for household appliance applications).
But while an end-user consumer, concerned only with whether a product works, might be indifferent as to the integrated circuit digital signal processor or controller included in a product, the product designer and manufacturer certainly are not. Product companies generally will expend great efforts to ensure that their products work properly and that consumers receive value and remain satisfied. Thus, product companies tend to select integrated circuit digital signal processors or controllers for use in an application based on their features and capabilities, not to mention costs and other factors.
In view of such circumstances, there tends to be vigorous competition among semiconductor companies for integrated circuit digital signal processor or controller xe2x80x9cdesign wins.xe2x80x9d In other words, at the design stage, when a products company is designing a product for a given application, semiconductor companies compete for having their digital signal processor or controller included in the product. Once a product company establishes a design and sets the functional pathway configuration for the interface between a digital signal controller and the system in which it is embedded, the product company is less likely to change the configuration to accommodate another integrated circuit digital signal controller having a different functional pathway configuration. Such configuration changes typically result in increased costs for the product company due to the system having to be re-designed in which the integrated circuit digital signal controller is embedded.
While there are a number of factors involved in any decision to award a design win, one such factor comprises a semiconductor company""s product xe2x80x9croadmap.xe2x80x9d Over time, end-user consumers generally tend to favor future generation consumer products having increased features at lower costs. Accordingly, product companies evaluating integrated circuit digital signal controller products of two or more semiconductor companies today will consider whether the particular solutions being offered now will allow them to migrate easily from a basic first generation design to an enhanced future generation design having increased capabilities and features. Such migrationxe2x80x94without the products company incurring extensive system re-design costsxe2x80x94in general is necessary if the products company is to offer the future generation products that consumers typically demand.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple and convenient functional pathway configuration for the interface between an integrated circuit digital signal controller and the system in which the digital signal controller is embedded, e.g., that tends to promote increased performance with lower costs.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems set forth above. Certain aspects of the present invention are set forth below as examples. It should be understood that such aspects are presented simply to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms the invention might take, and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be explicitly set forth below but that naturally follow from the examples and principles described herein.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a functional pathway configuration at the interface between an integrated circuit (IC) digital signal controller and the circuit assembly with which the IC digital signal controller communicates is provided. In a further embodiment, a functional pathway configuration at the interface between a digital signal controller and the circuitry of a system including one or more semiconductor dice.
In accordance with the present invention, in one embodiment a system including the IC digital signal controller may, advantageously, comprise an IC device having a plurality of digital inputs and outputs, clock inputs, one or more analog inputs, one or more analog outputs, and is adapted for connection to power (VDD) and ground (VSS).
In one aspect, the present invention comprises an IC device including a plurality of connections or xe2x80x9cpins.xe2x80x9d Advantageously, at least one pin comprises a power connection, at least one pin comprises a ground connection, and the remaining pins are input, output or input/output (I/O) connections, wherein each pin may have one or more associated functions. The pins may be analog, digital, mixed-signal (can be analog or digital). Some pins advantageously may be multiplexed with one or more alternate functions for the peripheral features on the IC device so that in general when a function is enabled that particular pin may not be used, for example, as a general purpose I/O pin.
In one embodiment, an IC device in accordance with the present invention advantageously includes 18, 28, 40, 44, 64 or 80 connections or pins. Each pin may be adapted and described according to the function(s) dedicated to the connection, so that all or a portion of the connections together define a functional pathway configuration at the interface between the digital signal controller and the system in which the digital signal controller may be embedded.
In accordance with the present invention, and depending upon the particular application involved, the integrated circuit, with which a system interfaces, may comprise a packaged IC. Examples of types of packaging include a dual in-line package (DIP), which may comprise molded plastic dual in-line package (PDIP) or ceramic dual in-line package (CERDIP); micro lead frame (MLF); pin grid arrays (PGAs); ball grid arrays (BGAs); quad packages; thin packages, such as flat packs (FPs), thin small outline packages (TSOPs), shrink small outline package (SSOP), small outline IC (SOIC) or ultrathin packages (UTPs); lead on chip (LOC) packages; chip on board (COB) packages, in which the chip is bonded directly to a printed-circuit board (PCB); and thin quad flat pack (TQFP) packages which are generally square with pins on all sides; and others. However, for the sake of clarity and convenience only, and without limitation as to the scope of the present invention, reference will be made herein primarily to SOIC, SDIP, PDIP and TQFP ICs.